


Ouch

by orphan_account



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Aogiri no Ki | Aogiri Tree (Tokyo Ghoul), Blood and Gore, Dark Comedy, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Obsessive Behavior, Original Character(s), Sassy OC, Slice of Life, Slow Romance, Teen Romance, Tragic Romance, Violence, and has a height complex, ayato is a crackhead, i love nishiki, love triangle kinda thing, messy timeline, mostly pre :re, no kimi soz, tags are messy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-10 22:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18670027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Domesticated S-rated Ghoul Mika Takahashi tried to live a normal life, to not conform to the violent depictions of ghouls in the media. She lived alongside those she loved, despite not always loving their actions. But after an encounter with a certain Aogiri executive, she is forced to acknowledge everything she never wanted to be.





	Ouch

**"I envy the birds, high up in the trees, they live out their lives so purposefully."**

 

In the midst of autumn, dark grey clouds hung over the skyline of Tokyo, the wind whipped around the brave individuals who dared to leave their homes in the 4th ward, street vendors eager to pack up and return to the warmth of their homes alongside wandering bodies holding cups of coffee in their hard grasp. As the seasons changed the weather followed suit, with the sky threatening rain causing those still out to speed up on their journey home.

Ayato let out a huff of air as he and a subordinate - What was her name again? - walked into HySy ArtMask Studio, blowing his fringe out of his face momentarily before it returned to its original placement, much to his dismay. The building was completely empty with the exception of the tall man, Uta, sat at the desk, scribbling away at a new design. He didn’t move from his seat as the two walked in, raising his hand as if to tell them to wait a moment, mumbling that he’d be just a minute. It wasn’t like Ayato to go out for mundane tasks but after the subordinate’s mask broke, Eto gave him no say in going with her to get a replacement. 

“Uta-san,” a voice called out from a room in the back, a small girl emerging seconds later with a wide smile on her face. In her hand sat a mask, an off-white colour with eccentric painting on it in place of makeup, similar to that of the Queen Of Hearts. Ayato could smell her before he heard her, her scent similar to Kaneki’s. So she was a ghoul. Or half at least. Placing the mask down next to Uta, the girl began to speak again.

“Thank you, Uta! I love it.” Her voice was quieter, an overpowering tone of joy still present though, before she continued, “I sent Nishiki a picture, he likes it as well.” Uta didn’t speak, opting to simply nod and let out a sound of appreciation as he rose from his spot and made his way over to the two customers. He stood for a moment, taller than them both, before pulling a tape measure out of his pocket. 

Ayato struggled to really pay attention, his focus on the girl who had taken over Uta’s seat, watching as she moved to take one of the eyeballs sat in a jar on Uta’s desk.

“Ah- excuse me for a moment.” Uta’s voice finally rung out as he turned his head back to the girl, “Mika, what did I say about snacking?” She, Mika, pursed her lips and swallowed quickly before laughing, nodding and holding up a salute to her forehead. Her laugh held out for a long moment, Uta smiling at her and then turning back to the two, continuing to talk to her about what mask she'd want. 

Ayato tried to pay attention to them, after all, Eto had explicitly told him to look after the ghoul - God, why couldn’t he remember her name? But in the corner of his eye, he watched Mika flip through Uta's sketchbook. Her small form looked odd on his chair, a clearly too big hooded jumper covering her body over a pair of black jeans. Her hair wasn't long, just passing her chin in almost black locks. Most of her face was covered by it as she looked through the other ghoul's drawings, nodding slowly as her fingers ran over the page. Ayato wanted to see her face properly, to see if she looked as annoying as she sounded. She acted more pathetic than his sister. Well, no. He couldn't say that, he didn't know her.

As she pushed her hair behind her ears, Ayato finally got a better glance. Several piercings of metal littered her ears in the same way as Uta's, with what looked like a small ring going through the cartilage between her nostrils. Peeking out from her sleeve was a darker area of skin, a tattoo maybe? He couldn't help but wonder what it was, why she had it, who did it for her. It wasn't the most uncommon thing for ghouls to have, but Ayato had met very few who could be bothered to deal with the Quinque needles.

"Uta-san, your friend is staring at me." She sounded like a whiny child, pulling Ayato back out of his thoughts as his eyes widened. She meant him, right? He glared at her, moving to take a step forward before Uta held out his arm in front of Ayato to stop him.

"Watch what you're saying, dumbass." Her lips tugged up into a smile as he spoke and before he knew it, she stood directly in front of him. While he wasn't exactly tall himself, he still stood taller than Mika. His sight took a moment to focus on her, noting that she only had one kakugan. It was at that moment he realized he was right in thinking she was like Kaneki, a half-ghoul. Ayato cursed himself for feeling the slightest bit scared of her, he was an Aogiri executive for God's sake. He ate small fry like her for dinner. If they had been by themselves, he'd have likely beaten her to a pulp by now. But the way she moved, her agility, felt familiar to him. Like he'd met her before, maybe not in this life, but at some point or another.

"Tch. Touka was right, you really are hot-headed. Mm, hi Aiya.” The ghoul stood next to Ayato raised her hand in a small greeting. Ayato glared again, pushing past Uta’s arm and moving to swing for Mika, aiming directly for the metal hanging from her nose. Except, when it came to the punch, he hit nothing. The air. Not Mika. Instead, she once again sat in the comfort of Uta's stool, typing away on her phone to someone. Ayato was at a loss for words, Aiya letting out a small giggle causing him to turn his annoyance towards her.

"Are you nearly done? I want to leave already." He muttered under his breath, stomping his boot-clad foot onto the floor in a childish manner before turning and storming out. Touka _really_ was right.

"I'm sorry for him, he's been stressed lately and..." Aiya began to ramble, trying to make excuses for Ayato's grumpiness but Mika just smiled. She'd seen Touka in a bad mood plenty of times, she just never knew how alike they'd be. When Touka was in a mood, even her stares felt like ice digging into your skin. But somehow Ayato felt worse, more childish and likely to hold a grudge. He could never be a martyr, she knew that much.

Uta watched with a smile, jotting down the measurements for Aiya’s mask alongside a few notes about how she wanted the design to look. Mika had grown up with Uta for the most part, he'd taught her how to survive and live without being caught. She owed him her life, that was for sure. Kaneki hadn't been the first half-ghoul he encountered, however, he had been the first half-ghoul to not entirely accept themselves. Unlike Kaneki, she'd been born a ghoul rather than made into one. Her life had been written out for her, she never had the experience of living as a human like he did, even if it had been taken away. After her parents were murdered by CCG Investigations, Uta took her under his wing and raised her almost as a sibling. 

"I'm surprised he doesn't remember who you are," Uta remarked after Aiya had left to run after Ayato. Mika looked up at him, raising an eyebrow at his comment.

"I don't know if he ever saw my face, it's not like we spoke anyway. Besides, I was only there for a few weeks. Temporary basis, as a favour to Eto."

"Would you go back?" 

"No." 

"Don't lie."

"Who knows. Nishiki didn’t agree with it. Definitely not the nicest base though, not even livable really. But I met some good people through being there, even if it wasn't for long. I miss Nico." Mika pondered for a short moment, staring at the mask on the table. Had Ayato not recognised her? She wasn't really even paying attention while he was there. If Eto asked, she'd have no reason not to go back. She-

Before Mika could even finish her thought, her phone buzzed in her lap. Speak of the devil.

**FROM: Eto** **  
_Are you busy? Nico injured, need help tonight. E_**

Within the hour, Mika had bid farewell to Uta and made her way to the Aogiri base. 

It had moved since she was last there, Eto had informed her via text message. 

The girl's footsteps echoed around the building, stark silence filling each corner. They may have moved, but that didn't mean the base looked any better than the old one. The building must've been abandoned for quite some time before, given the state it was in. 

Careful not to make her presence known, she tiptoed towards Eto, who stood with her back to Mika whilst talking to some subordinate. Caution is key, otherwise, her small joke could easily turn sour. She sprung into action, practically jumping on Eto as she wrapped her arms around her neck and shoulders. As an extra precaution, to prevent a scene being made, Mika placed her hand over Eto's mouth, mumbling a quiet 'hello' in her ear. 

"Mika-san." Eto's voice called out, muffled by Mika's hand. She looked up, a smile pulling at her mouth. Stood in the corner of the room, not paying attention as per usual, was Ayato looking down at the small mobile in his hands.

“Hello, Eto." Mika took a small step back. Eto appeared paler than usual, she noted. Could it be stress? She'd be stressed too if she had to deal with Ayato's stubbornness all the time. Mika felt worried nonetheless, concern for her old friend bubbling up in her stomach.

Ayato's head pulled up at the sound of his voice, a mix of confusion and anger covering his face. He practically ran towards the two, staring at Eto as if to question Mika's presence. He wasn't sure why he felt so angry seeing her, maybe it was the comment she'd made the last time he saw her. 

"Why is she here?" Ayato hissed. Mika's face contorted in confusion, knowing that his anger towards was completely misplaced and he had no reason to dislike her. She stood there, in a t-shirt and jeans, an Aogiri Tree cloak hanging over her arm with her mask in her hand. 

"Because I asked her to be. You're the one who wanted to go Dove hunting while Nico is still recovering." 

Mika tilted her head, watching Ayato as he spewed out reasons for her to not be there. What was his issue? Why did he have such an issue with her? They'd never spoken before, so why did hate her so much? 

"We don't need her, we'd be fine without her." 

"Bite me, Ayato. I'm here as a favour, not to please you." Her tone changed in an instant, "If it were up to me, I'd be at home, or out with Nishiki or something!" Nishiki? That was that punk who worked at Anteiku with Touka, wasn't it? 

In the same moment, Mika's back hit the solid ground, Ayato's foot pressing down on her chest. Her eyes widened, staring up at him as her blood began to boil. The moment Ayato's foot moved, she moved to her feet and activated her kagune, in the shape of wings with black accents around the edges. It immediately moved to cover her body as began crystallised bullets shooting towards her from Ayato resulting in the girl being pushed back against the wall. Recovering, she ran towards the male and smiled as the edge of one of the wings stabbed him in the stomach, blood leaving his mouth in a cough. She pulled it back out of him, opting to stab him in the lower back several times. 

It took him a few moments to regain his composure, a hiss leaving his mouth as he looked down at his torso. His own kagune managed to rip through her shoulder, ribbons of blood spurting as the muscle tore. Doubling over in pain, Ayato smirked. She was weak and pathetic. She clearly wasn't used to this abuse, making him question how she managed to survive so long being like this. Did she even know how to use her kagune properly? That couldn't be it, she'd had been killed if she didn't know. 

Ayato seized hold of her wrist at the moment where she unintentionally stopped paying attention, pulling Mika towards him and slamming his knee into her stomach. She felt as if her insides had been moved into an unnatural position, her nerves red hot with pain. The teen curled his fingers around the ends of her hair, digging and pulling at the roots. Her kagune had deteriorated by that point, the faint noise of Eto telling Ayato to cut it out cutting through the sound of blood pumping through her ears. Mika fell back against the floor a moment later, Ayato stood over her as his kagune began to disappear and his eyes returned to their regular blue colour. She lay there for a moment, looking up at him whilst taking several deep breaths in an attempt to ignore the pain seeping through her skull. He held out a hand to her, clicking his tongue as he waited for her to take it and stand up. 

"Get up then, idiot." He muttered, nodding his head towards his hand. She nodded slowly, reaching her hand up and taking hold of his. 

"That's enough Ayato. We don't have time," Tatara's voice rung out around the room, Mika turning her head to look at him, "Mika has done nothing wrong to you, so stop being childish." 

"I'm not in the mood to go out anymore." The angst-filled teen didn't leave time for anyone to respond as he stomped out the room, completely disregarding Tatara's words. He kicked the ground as he stalked around the building, making his way to his own room. He'd had a shitty few weeks and while even he knew the way he acted towards and treated Mika wasn't okay, he couldn't help it. Eto had explained to him earlier that day that Mika had been apart of Aogiri before, and he was unsure of why he couldn't remember her. He'd been soft on her, so why were they all acting like he actually hurt her? God, what a bunch of idiots. 

"So, what's his issue?" Mika hummed, looking between Eto and Tatara with a raised eyebrow as she waited for a response. Neither of them said anything for a moment, watching as she saw to the wound on her shoulder. It'd already begun to heal, but the pain will still present. 

"He's a teenager, it's hormones," Eto spoke out when Tatara didn't. Mika let out a laugh, a smile finally gracing her face as she did. 

"It's okay, I'm sure we'll be friends eventually, I'm very stubborn like that." 

As she spoke, she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. 

**FROM: Nishiki ♡**

_**Touka wants to know when you'll be back, says you have to eat today or she'll hit you.** _


End file.
